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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/22917847">First Meeting</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Raikana/pseuds/Raikana'>Raikana</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Pocket Monsters: Sword &amp; Shield | Pokemon Sword &amp; Shield Versions</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Baby Piers doing his Gym Challenge, Oh No He's Hot, Other, Piers has a crush on Kabu, Unrequited Crush</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-02-27</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-02-27</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-01 16:29:21</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>3,800</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/22917847</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Raikana/pseuds/Raikana</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Piers reaches Motostoke while doing his gym challenge and comes up against Kabu, the newest face in the Major League. Oh no, he's hot.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>19</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>First Meeting</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><ul class="associations">
      <li>For <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sketchfiend/gifts">Sketchfiend</a>.</li>



    </ul></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>“With six points, Challenger Piers has passed the Motostoke gym mission!” The announcer’s voice rang over the PA system. Piers let out a sigh and pushed his two-tone bangs out of his face. He was already shaky from adrenaline and he wasn’t even at the gym battle yet.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He took a moment to get his pokeballs hooked to his belt again before he straightened up and walked toward the stairs. His heart pounded in his ribcage with each step he climbed. Behind those doors was the battle pitch and the gym leader.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He stopped just in front of the doors to let one of the stadium employees heal his team before he pushed the double doors open and strode down the dim hallway toward the bright light of the pitch.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He caught sight of the gym leader’s silhouette at the end of the tunnel and he picked up his pace, jogging to the end of the tunnel. He slowed his pace and caught his breath as he neared the older man, his eyes roaming the man’s body, from his toned calves and thighs all the way up to his compact and muscular shoulders. His dark hair stuck out at odd angles in places, as if he couldn’t quite keep it under control.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He walked up next to the gym leader and turned to get a look at his face. Despite the stern, or maybe determined, look on the man’s face, Piers found his heart racing again. He hadn’t felt this way about someone yet, but he’d heard enough from the other kids back in Spikemuth about the boys or girls they liked.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The man turned and caught Piers staring. Piers knew he was a newcomer to the major league, but he couldn’t quite remember his name, just that he came from another part of the world. His face softened after a moment and he gave Piers a warm smile. “Hello,” he said, but he got cut off by the announcer’s voice coming over the PA again.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Welcome to the field Challenger Piers and Gym Leader Kabu!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Kabu held Piers’ gaze for a moment longer, then he reached up to grab the ends of the towel hanging around his neck. He turned his face forward and took off toward the center of the pitch at a brisk jog.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Piers took a deep breath to try to calm his heart before he stepped out of the tunnel and onto the carefully trimmed grass. He felt a squirming sensation deep in his gut as he strode across the pitch toward Kabu. He dropped his right hand to his belt, running his fingers across the smooth curve of the pokeballs there. He had to distract himself from the mental image of Kabu’s muscles flexing and stretching as he jogged. He couldn’t start his gym battle </span>
  <em>
    <span>sporting wood</span>
  </em>
  <span>. It was mortifying.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Things didn’t get much better once he was standing across from Kabu and he could see muscular legs if he just looked down a bit. He lifted his gaze to briefly meet Kabu’s eyes, if only to stop himself from staring at the man’s powerful thighs and sculpted calves. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>There was a fire in Kabu’s eyes, one that wasn’t there before he walked onto the pitch. Piers swallowed hard and forced himself to meet Kabu’s eyes as he ran his fingers across the pokeballs on his hip, finally releasing one. Scraggy’s ball dropped into his palm and he swung his arm back, tossing the ball out onto the field.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>His heart almost beat its way right out of his chest when he saw his Zigzagoon appear on the pitch. That wasn’t the right one. He wasn’t even sure his Zigzagoon was ready to fight in a gym battle yet, though he’d been working with it to get ready for his gym challenge. His palms started sweating as he ran through the list of moves he’d managed to teach Zigzagoon, but then his eyes were drawn to Kabu’s strong arms, the muscles shifting under his tight sleeves as he wound up and threw out his pokeball.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Piers forced himself to look down at the field and away from Kabu’s muscles. He had a gym battle to win. He couldn’t be thinking how those arms might feel wrapped around his shoulders. Kabu looked like he was strong enough to lift Piers off the ground without even breaking a sweat. That thought should not hold as much appeal as it actually did, at least judging by his body’s reaction. He found himself grateful that the challenger’s uniform had such baggy shorts for once.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He looked back down at their pokemon, in time to catch Kabu’s Vulpix setting fire to Zigzagoon’s tail. His poor Zigzagoon yelped and spun in a circle, trying to put itself out. He cursed under his breath and crouched to dig in his bag, tossing a bottle of burn heal onto Zigzagoon. Only for Kabu’s Vulpix to rush Zigzagoon, knocking him off his feet.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Piers, still crouched by his bag, managed to catch Zigzagoon before it hit the ground. He cradled his poor pokemon and tried to get it to wake up, but Zigzagoon had fainted. Piers grabbed the pokeball off the ground and recalled it with a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach. He still had other pokemon, but he didn’t want to see any of them hurt.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He put Zigzagoon’s ball back on his belt and grabbed the right pokeball this time. At least Zigzagoon’s limp form had all but killed his arousal from earlier. He stood back up and gave Scraggy’s ball an underhanded toss onto the pitch. He still couldn’t bring himself to look in Kabu’s direction. He didn’t want to risk the sight of the man distracting him again.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Try as he might, though, Piers couldn’t claw himself back to a superior position in the fight. Kabu’s Vulpix did some serious damage to Scraggy before he managed to take it down with a low kick. Then he lost Scraggy to Growlithe. Growlithe’s bites kept Scraggy off his guard long enough that Piers hadn’t stood a chance. He sent out his Inkay last, but it took a beating from Growlithe’s teeth before Kabu finally recalled Growlithe. WIth Inkay already so hurt, it didn’t take much for Kabu’s Sizzlipede to finish it off.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Piers fell to his knees when his Inkay went limp and carefully scooped it up off the grass before putting it back into its pokeball. His guts twisted as he thought of how he’d betrayed his pokemon. They had trusted him to keep them safe and he’d failed them.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Still, he didn’t want to look weak in front of Kabu, so he put Inkay’s pokeball back on his belt, took a deep breath to compose himself, and stood up to face the victorious gym leader. He forced himself to look up at Kabu’s face, expecting to see disappointment or derision on his stern face. Instead, Kabu gave him a gentle smile and dipped forward in a small bow. Then Kabu offered up his hand and Piers took it. Kabu gripped his hand firmly, but didn’t try to crush his hand like some people did when they wanted to prove their strength.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Piers gripped back and gave Kabu’s hand a firm shake before he let go. He could feel the calluses on Kabu’s fingers and the warmth from Kabu’s skin sank into Piers, warming him from the inside out. Just like that, he was wondering once again what Kabu’s arms would feel like wrapped around him, holding him close, warming him through. Piers could feel his cheeks redden as he took a step back, putting space between him and this gym leader that burned brighter than his pokemon.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Piers turned and walked toward the tunnel he’d come out of as the crowd cheered in the stands. Once he was out of sight in the dim tunnel, he slumped against the wall and slid down to a sitting position, the rough concrete hiking his shirt up in the back and scraping his skin. He buried his face in his arms, but still refused to break down. He just needed a moment to recover before he could go back to the locker room and face the other challengers.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He buried his face deeper into the crook of his elbow when he heard quick footsteps approaching. It had to be Kabu, finally heading back to the locker room to shower. He waited for the footsteps to pass him, but instead they slowed down as they drew near. He still refused to look up when the footsteps stopped and fabric rustled inches away. He could feel the heat radiating off Kabu’s body as they both sat there in silence for a moment.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Kabu was the first to break the silence, speaking in heavily accented Galarian. “Thank you for the battle. It was very lively.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Piers finally looked up, peeking at Kabu over the curve of his forearm, his heart fluttering at the gentle look on the man’s face. He truly looked grateful, not like he was saying it just so he would look like a gracious winner. Kabu offered up his hand again and Piers looked at it for a moment before he reached out to take it.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Kabu didn’t shake his hand this time, he just gave it a gentle squeeze. “I’m looking forward to fighting you again tomorrow, once you have a chance to rest.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You’re not going to tell me I should give up and try again next season?” Piers lifted his head to rest his chin on his arm, so his words wouldn’t be muffled.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Kabu finally released his hand, still crouching in front of Piers with his thick forearms resting on his knees. “No. I think you are strong enough to win. You just made a mistake. I’d like to see you battle when you are prepared better.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Piers blinked up at Kabu when he stood up and offered his hand again. He was sure the other kids back home in Spikemuth would have told him he was a loser and to just give up, try some other year when he had more experience. He reached up to grab Kabu’s hand again, just wanting to feel the warmth of his skin and the rough calluses on his palm.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Kabu tightened his grip on Piers’ hand and Piers found himself hauled to his feet, completely off balance. He tried to catch himself but ended up stumbling forward against the solid bulk of Kabu’s chest. His face suddenly burned as he felt Kabu’s chest vibrate with a silent laugh. He couldn’t tell if the pulse pounding in his ears was his own or Kabu’s.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He pulled away reluctantly and stood up straight only a few centimeters shorter than Kabu. His chest still ached, wanting to know what Kabu’s arms felt like, but he had kept his hands to himself until Piers picked himself back up. His pulse still thrummed in his ears as he looked away, face burning, though it wasn’t as loud as before, so some of the noise must have been Kabu’s heart, beating in time with his own.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Piers looked up at Kabu’s face again, but he still had a kind expression on his face as he stood in front of Piers. Piers ducked his head  and shoved his hands into the pockets on his shorts. “I...I gotta go,” he mumbled before he turned and walked off, fighting the urge to run.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He looked over at the locker room as he passed it, but put his head back down and picked up his pace, hurrying toward the front door of the Motostoke gym. Once he was outside, still in his gym uniform, Piers practically sprinted down the road to the Budew Drop. He didn’t stop until he was in his room with the door locked behind his back. He leaned against the door for a moment, trembling from the exertion. He had hoped the run would distract him from thoughts of Kabu, but he could still feel Kabu’s warm hand in his.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He shoved himself away from the door and let his poor pokemon out into the room to recover. He got Scraggy and Zigzagoon comfortable on the bed and carried Inkay’s Pokeball into the bathroom with him. He briefly considered just releasing it into a tub full of water, but he needed a shower after what he’d just been through. A </span>
  <em>
    <span>cold</span>
  </em>
  <span> shower. And maybe some time alone with his right hand if the cold shower didn’t get rid of his little problem.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He set the pokeball in the sink for the moment and started the shower, stripping out of his sweaty uniform finally. At least he’d be allowed to go back tomorrow and try again. Though maybe he’d wait a few days. He could spend some time out in the wilds with his team, teaching them moves now that he knew what Kabu’s team could do.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He stepped into the shower and just stood under the cool spray, letting his mind go back over everything that happened. He tried to remember the moves that Kabu’s pokemon had used, but his mind kept drifting back to the man himself. He found himself thinking about the shadows shifting on Kabu’s long sleeves as he threw his pokeballs, remembering the way Kabu looked as he jogged onto the pitch. The look on Kabu’s face when they were alone in the tunnel and how much softer his features looked once he was no longer the Gym Leader putting on a show for the crowd. He still had the wrinkles on his forehead and those angular eyebrows, but the effect was much different when those eyebrows were tipped up instead of knit together in concentration.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Piers let out a frustrated grunt and grabbed the shower’s knob, turning it to make the water colder. Within seconds the water was freezing, so cold that he was shivering under the spray, but his body just wouldn’t give up. He waited a few more minutes under the icy spray, but his arousal hadn’t gone away. He finally decided to just give up and turned the shower back up, making it even warmer than before. If he was going to give in to his body’s demands, he at least wanted to be comfortable while he did it.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Piers finally left the bathroom almost an hour later, one of the large towels wrapped around his waist. He stopped just outside the door and peeked over his shoulder to check on Inkay, lazily floating along in the full tub. He could have kept his pokemon in their pokeballs, but he liked to let them out when he could, to spend time with them. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He walked over to the bed, where Scraggy and Zigzagoon were both sprawled, sleeping on top of the covers. He smiled and gently moved them to one side of the bed so he could sit on the other side in his towel, waiting for his hair to dry so he could go to bed.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>*   *   *</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Piers walked up to the League Official in the Motostoke gym the next day, already in his gym uniform and handed over his trainer card for the man to check. He had come prepared to do the gym mission all over again and had extra pokeballs in his bag, since capturing the pokemon earned him more points than just beating them. He shuffled a little in place while the  official checked his card, the butterflies in his stomach threatening to take off flying again.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Challenger Piers, it’s good to see you back. Please go on through and we’ll let Gym Leader Kabu know you’re back.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Piers took his card back and tucked it away in his wallet. “You mean...I don’t have to do the mission again?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“No. You’ve already proven yourself worthy of a match with the gym leader. Please go through the doors and someone will take you to the stadium when it is your turn.” The official stepped to one side to let Piers through.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Piers hurried past the man, just in case he’d made a mistake. He would rather not deal with the gym mission again if he could help it. He just wanted to get back on the pitch and fight Kabu again, only this time he was going to win. He’d spent the morning working with his pokemon and he’d made sure their balls were in the right order on his belt. He had plenty of potions and burn heals in his bag so he could deal with whatever problems came up. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It was only a few minutes before another gym trainer came up to him and said it was his turn for a battle. Piers had to jog to keep up with the taller man, but he soon found himself in the same dim tunnel that led to the pitch. He spotted Kabu standing just inside the mouth of the tunnel again and smiled when he remembered the way Kabu had treated him in private yesterday.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He jogged the rest of the way down the tunnel and looked over to see Kabu wiping the sweat off his face with the towel around his neck. It looked like he had just finished a battle against another trainer, so why was he already going back up against Piers? Sure, his pokemon would have been healed between battles, but he was the gym leader. Surely he could have taken a few minutes to cool off between fights. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Kabu dropped his towel and looked over at Piers with a small smile on his face, his cheeks still flushed red from exertion. “You came back,” he said in a gentle voice, nothing at all like the rough, powerful commands he had been yelling to his pokemon the day before.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Piers felt his cheeks grow warm again and he dropped his gaze to the concrete floor, rubbing the back of his neck. “Well, I couldn’t just...give up, could I? I gotta at least make it farther than the first couple gyms or else I’ll never hear the end of it back home. My little sis is probably watchin’ and I don’t want her to see me lose.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He heard the huff as Kabu laughed quietly. “I’m sure your sister will be proud of you, no matter what.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Piers scoffed at that, but he shut his mouth when the announcer called their names over the PA system again. Once again, Kabu grabbed the ends of his towel in both hands and jogged out to the center of the pitch. Piers double-checked his pokeballs one last time before he followed Kabu out onto the field.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Once again, they faced off and Kabu bowed stiffly to Piers, his face already drawn down in concentration, the fire burning bright in his eyes. Gone was the kindly older man. Kabu was now the gym leader, pitting his pokemon in an all-out battle against a rival trainer.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Even Piers felt a bit of that fire burning in his belly as he faced Kabu with a fresh strategy. Or maybe that was just his budding arousal as he watched Kabu, captivated all over again by the look of him. Piers pitched Scraggy’s ball onto the field with an underhanded toss and Kabu sent out his Vulpix with a form as nice as any baseball pitcher could hope for.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>For all that he had obsessed about his upcoming battle all night, barely getting any sleep, Piers was surprised when the fight only lasted a few minutes. He managed to get Kabu’s team trapped in a sandstorm, which hurt them slowly. He had lost Scraggy and Inkay along the way, but he managed to scrape by with Zigzagoon still conscious when Kabu’s Sizzlipede fainted, earning him the victory and the fire badge.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He stood in the center of the pitch, facing Kabu, his face dripping sweat again. Piers wasn’t sure how he could look good with sweat dripping off his chin, but he managed it somehow. Kabu gave Piers a fierce smile, nothing like the gentle smiles he gave when he wasn’t on camera. He offered up his hand and Piers took it, still radiating heat the way it had yesterday.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Kabu gave Piers’ hand a firm shake and handed over the fire badge. “Challenger Piers has won the battle!” the announcer called over the PA. Kabu turned, as if that was his cue, and jogged off the pitch and into the tunnel again. Piers quickly followed him, also jogging to keep up. He stopped once he was out of the spotlight and took a deep breath to calm his nerves.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Kabu’s footsteps ahead of him slowed and stopped, then he heard Kabu come closer again. He looked up to find Kabu standing in front of him with the gentle look on his face again. “I look forward to fighting you again in the championships,” he said, his voice pitched low, so that Piers was the only one to hear him. “I want to see how much better you become.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Piers blushed but straightened up. He knew he tended to slouch, but he didn’t often see a reason to stop. For some reason he wanted to put his best face forward for Kabu so he stood up to his full height, able to look Kabu in the eyes. “I’ll do my best, sir.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>At that, Kabu let out a laugh, sounding just like his Growlithe when it barked. He reached up with his gloved hand and clapped Piers on the shoulder. “That’s the spirit! Keep trying new things and you’ll find a way through!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Piers felt his face grow hot again, uncomfortably aware of Kabu’s hand on his shoulder, while at the same time wishing that Kabu would touch him in other places. Not that he’d ever be able to admit it, of course, It was inappropriate in the extreme to even </span>
  <em>
    <span>think</span>
  </em>
  <span> of bedding a man who must be at least ten years older than him, maybe more. It was hard to tell with the strange juxtaposition of youthful black hair and deeply-etched frown lines on his face.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He mumbled his thanks and slipped out from under Kabu’s hand, fleeing to the locker room to change. He briefly considered just heading back to his hotel room again, but he’d won his match this time. He had no reason to hide from the eyes of the other trainers. He would definitely save the shower for his hotel room, though. Just because he had won, it didn’t mean he wanted a bunch of questions about why he was so aroused. He changed back into his normal black tank top and his snug black jeans before he walked out of the gym with his head high.</span>
</p>
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